Nation IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Rise in Smugglers Swallowing Cocaine

Customs agents in Miami have seen a six-fold increase in a single year in cocaine seized from people smuggling the drug into the United States by swallowing it in balloons or condoms, authorities said. In fiscal 1988, agents recovered about 23 pounds of cocaine from swallowers. In 1989, they recovered 136 pounds of cocaine from 84 swallowers, officials said. From the start of fiscal 1990 in October through early February, 88 pounds of cocaine has been detected in 55 people, customs agents reported. The average swallower ingests between a half-pound and 2 pounds of cocaine and is paid $1,000 to $3,000 for transporting it from Colombia to Miami, officials said.